


Bait

by AutisticWriter



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Blindfolds, Blood and Injury, Canon Dialogue, Fainting, Ficlet, Gen, Guns, Pain, Restraints, Video Game: Red Dead Redemption (2010), Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26778163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Nastas’ thoughts as he awakes tied to a chair on the Wreck of the Serendipity.Prompt: Waking Up Restrained
Kudos: 1
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Bait

He awakes to darkness. Darkness and pain. Nastas groans, his whole body aching and throbbing from the beating that knocked him out.

Nastas tries to move his arms, but his wrists chafe against rope and refuse to move. Does he have his hands bound behind his back?

Despite the pain in his head, Nastas forces his eyes open, expecting the light to make the throbbing intensify, but only finds more darkness. For a second, his pain-addled brain assumes he has gone blind, but Nastas soon notices the pinpricks of light shining through holes, showing his eyes still work. And, once he connects that to the sensation of something pressing his hair to his head, Nastas realises he has a fabric bag over his head.

Perfect.

He knew being an informant for the government was a risky idea, but Nastas never thought things would turn out like this, with a violent beating from his former friends, and being left tied up in an unknown location. But why didn’t they kill him? Do they want to come back for more, torturing him until he begs for death? Will they bring Nastas to Dutch himself and let their gang’s leader punish him? Will they leave him to the wolves and cougars?

The crack of a gunshot pulls Nastas from his thoughts. Another gunshot follows, accompanied by shouts and screams of pain and loud… splashes? Are they near water right now? He doesn’t know what to think.

And then the shots become a hail of bullets, his surroundings turning into a massive gunfight, and realisation smacks Nastas like the repeater to the head that knocked him out in the first place.

Is Nastas being used as bait? Is this an ambush by the government or another gang, with Nastas left out in the open as a trap? He swallows hard, certain he has discovered the truth. So becoming bait was the fate they wished for him…

Nastas shifts in his seat, wondering if he can stand with his arms bound to the chair, but sudden, sharp pain in his thigh freezes him in place. Hissing in agony, Nastas grits his jaw, remembering the bullet piercing his leg and his former friends mocking his screams of pain, and grimaces at the sensation of congealing blood sticking his pant leg to his thigh. Standing might not be possible.

The gunfire starts to dissipate, one side of the battle clearly rapidly losing men, and the screams as men die and crash into the water make his stomach churn. Why must he be so used to death?

Finally, the shots cease, and Nastas hears footsteps pounding up wooden steps. Someone skids to a stop right before Nastas, panting for breath.

“Over here!” the man yells, voice hoarse and slightly frantic. “I've found him.”

Without warning, the bag is pulled from Nastas’ head, the bright daylight almost blinding his sensitive eyes. Through the bright haze, two white men stare down at him, one dressed like a gunslinger and wearing a confused expression, and the other…

“Good god, that's our informant,” says Fordham, a man Nastas recognises from meetings with his unpleasant superior Ross. “Nastas, what the hell's going on here?”

There are so many things he could say, but nothing really sums up the level of pain and fear and dread welling up deep in his chest. With the help of the gunslinger-looking man, Nastas attempts to rise to his feet, but his injured leg screams with pain and crumples beneath him.

The pain sends his head spinning, sudden dizziness making his vision go dark at the edges. With the last of his strength, Nastas manages to blurt out three short words. “It's a trap!”

And then he faints, tumbling back into the darkness.


End file.
